Help All 4 Paws Animal Shelter Green Its New Space!

It’s pretty clear that we’re animal lovers here at Inhabitat, so when we got an email from All 4 Paws, a progressive animal rescue in South Carolina, asking for help we knew we couldn’t say no. The shelter just moved into an old auto shop and they’ve been trying to incorporate green design into their new space, but have limited finances and limited resources. We were hoping that our readers, many of whom are renewable energy and eco interior experts could lend them a hand – maybe “bring a windmill or a poop to energy converter,” as they put it, into their new space. They’ve worked really hard to save the lives of animals so if anyone would like to help them out, it would definitely be appreciated! Please comment on the post or email nannydog[at]yahoo.com if you’re interested in lending your services.

3 thoughts on “Help All 4 Paws Animal Shelter Green Its New Space!”

Thank you guys/gals for responding.
Our contractor said that the roof isn't well suited for a green roof, but there is already a gutter system in place... So, we may be looking at the rainwater for drinking idea! The building is 100 x 31. That gives us quite a large surface area for rainwater collection. That also leaves us room for a windmill or solar panels in the future. At the beach we get a great breeze and full sunlight. You can see our whole roof on google maps! I've been out begging for windmills with no luck!! :)
We actually like the paved play yards due to it's ease to clean. We will have to seal it, but grass can hold parvo for up to 7 yrs. Parvo can be deadly and is highly transmittable for puppies. The left paved side will probably be our puppy play yard so it can be sanitized. You cannot see in the picture but off the back of the building is all grass fenced in yard, which will be for the adult dogs. In the end there will be 3 outdoor play yards.
I will also check into the Brownfield programs!! That had not come in my searches before!!
Concerned dog Advocate, you are right on!! As another animal advocate to another, I was wondering if anyone was going to bring this up!! I can assure you it's been scrubbed and scrubbed with industrial cleaner and then cleaned again with green cleaner. The two rescue founders lost some skin (literally) with the industrial degreaser/cleaner but the dogs shouldn't have any problems!! We also ran soil tests in the yard and grass areas too. They were surprisingly clean for an auto shop! But there would be no reason he would have let oil sit in the yard. I think it held tires and cars for sale.
Thank you both again for your comments! We hope to hear from anyone else too!

Look into Brownfields progaram/grant assistance
Think about rooftop water catchment for pet drinking water
Could any feedstock be grown on the roof?
Could some of the area be 'depaved' for exercise area?